Back From Vacation

I'm home....finally. It seemed to take forever to get home. The check engine light was on in the car the whole way, so that was fun too. This will be a short post with a longer post about vacation to come later. I recommend that both be largely ignored as they have little to do with anything.

The first reason for this post is to get back into the swing of things and an updated ACB on all of your blogs.

The second reason is to address a concern of my wife's that proved to be unfounded. My wife was less than thrilled with my last post which basically announced to the world that we were on vacation and our house was open season for all manner of shady characters to come and steal, lounge, party, graffiti, and destroy. It was her opinion that it was unwise to announce our absence over the ether. Maybe she's right.

My counter is this. We have nothing of value to steal. We also have a giant guard dog named Chloe...err...uhhh...Apocalypse Killer (yeah, that's her name), guarding the house in our absence.

I thought it prudent to make a warning here for all of you shady characters who considered breaking into my home to nab my collection of unopened 92 Stadium Club. You may get in, but it's less than certain you would get back out with this vicious killer roaming the premises. Here are some pics to prove it.


This is Apocalypse Killer on high alert:


This is what it would look like to any unsuspecting burglar (ham or otherwise) who made the critical error of entering our abode uninvited.


Just look what happened to this poor bastard as his face is being ripped off. His shirt started out white. By the time AK was pulled off of him he looked like an extra from Raiders of the Lost Ark.


So there you go. It's probably best to just move along if you know what's good for you.

My wife was really only worried about Beardy. I figured he was too busy with the Gint-A-Cuffs to bother with us. I thought we might have some trouble with Captain Canuck (being Canadian and all), but he knew better as well.

Any way, it's good to be home. I will now resume making any and all manner of ridiculous, annoying, and mostly unfunny remarks on all of your wonderful blogs.

Kevin Mitchell - Gold Tooth Mafia

I'm on vacation. Really. I'm in a Marriott timeshare hotel thingy in Hilton Head. Left after work on Thursday, got here on Friday. Been doing a lot of nothing ever since. I've already got some stories to tell, nothing very interesting, but maybe worth reading. That's for later, though.

Right now I'm sort of out of options. Vacations change drastically when you have a kid. No more out until closing time. I'm bored but I'm not tired. It's around 11 and everyone is asleep. I can't turn the light on or I'll wake the kid.

So what should I do? Isn't it obvious? I'll do what any number of you reading this would do in my position. I'll grab my wife's computer and write a short post about Kevin Mitchell and his gold tooth. Duh.





I didn't realize until recently that Kevin Mitchell had a gold tooth. I should also say that I'm just guessing that the tooth is gold. That isn't at all clear in this card. It's merely the most likely material used.

And, that tooth (#9 to be exact) is definitely some sort of metal. It's plain as day in this 1989 Bowman card. The year of this card, Kevin Mitchell had the best year of his entire life. He smashed 47 Hrs. He hit in 125 RBIs (yes, I've said it before. I'm calling them RBIs. With the "s"). This might even be the year he made that over the shoulder barehanded catch.* I can't remember when that was.

*Here's the thing about that catch. Is it really that impressive? If you ever see a highlight real of great catches, that one is always on it. I'm not so sure it should be. I mean, they have a glove for a reason. If he had run to the right spot and gotten himself in better position, he would have been able to use it. Sure, a barehanded catch is fun and rare and all that stuff, but wouldn't most other fielders have just used the glove? I see fans make barehanded catches at every game. And they have to fight off other fans AND not spill their beer and nachos. That's way more impressive. Don't you think?

And, he did it all that year with the gold tooth.

Take a look for yourselves. The photo is grainy because I don't know how to make it not grainy, but it's certainly a metal tooth.

So welcome, Kevin Mitchell. Former MVP, former Indian, highlight real barehanded catcher, and newest member of the Gold Tooth Mafia. It's good to have you aboard.

By the way. Here is a scan of the card after I trimmed it to the size of a regular card so that I could fit it in my little card case to bring on vacation. I highly recommend that you do this with all of your 1989 Bowman. Trust me when I tell you that they don't look any worse, and they may look better after trimming. The back remains unaffected. You just lose a little of the top and bottom borders. I wish I had done this a long time ago. I was coming slowly to the decision to either light all of my 89 Bowman on fire, or sell it all on Craigslist for $1,000. Now I have a third option.

To Picasa Or Not To Picasa

OK, Here's my idea.

Over the last year I've managed to amass a collection of GU, Jersey, and Auto cards that is underwhelming and a little pathetic. I'd like to turn it into a little collection of Indians cards that is both underwhelming and a little pathetic, but a lot more fun for an Indian's fan like myself to look at.

I'd like to scan all of these cards in for people to access so that they can salivate over the awesomeness and send me emails offering trades that will be returned promptly (within 5 weeks).

Here's the question that I'm throwing to you, brilliant readers and fans of ACB. What is the best medium to scan the cards to? I came up with the 2 obvious ideas:

1. Just scan them to a blog post and make a link at the side.

2. Scan them to Picasa and make a link.

3. A better option I haven't thought of.

I haven't used Picasa before but people have told me it's good. Would that be easier or better somehow?

Question #2 is; what it the best way to list wantlists? Just in blog post with links? Or, is it better to use one of those Google Documents spreadsheet things? Opinions will be greatly appreciated.

For the time being, I've decided to scan some of the sweet cards that will be available for trade upon completion of this little project...sometime in 2011.



Allan Anderson on card Auto 1987 Topps

I got this auto myself (I think). I'd trade one because I have 2 of them. I'm 87% certain that Allan signed them, although it is possible that I signed them myself. It just doesn't look like a 12 year old's writing. Yeah, I'm going with legit. I could probably get a few hundred on Craigslist for this baby.


Coco Crisp Game Used Apparel 2006 Artifacts 053/325

That's right. The Crisp card that everybody's been waiting for. And a 1/1 as it is the only card numbered 053/325. That's right, you won't find another 053/325 anywhere on the planet. How can a Crisp fan pass that up?

I must be tempted with a truly great card to give this one up, as Crisp is in a Tribe uniform.


Omar Poveda Auto 2008 Donruss Threads 628/999

That's right, less than 1000 made of this future Hall Of Famer.


Ian Kennedy Game Jersey 2009 Upper Deck

Can you believe that I'd even consider parting with such a rare and glorious card? Ian Kennedy might be the best pitching prospect of the last 50 years. He's can't miss. I'd have to check with Beckett but I could probably get at least $250 for this card.

So, that's just a little sample of the awesome cards that will be available for trade in a few short years after I make a decision on the format and get them scanned. Just be warned, I'm not letting these go for cheap. Be prepared to overwhelm me to pry some of these loose.

Any and all advice would be taken into consideration on future trades.

I was bullied

As all of my loyal readers may have noticed, I've added a followers link to the right hand side. Go ahead, take a look, I'll wait. See it over there? Yeah, I have no damn idea what the hell it's for. But Beardy requested that I put it there. And, it's not a good idea to piss off beardy. Just look at that crazy bastard.




Not a dude that you want to say no to. Am I wrong?

Seems as if I have 12 followers, which seemed really cool to me, until I looked at every other blog and realized that they all have around 40. I never really understood the point of the whole followers thing. I guess it let's you know when someone updates their blog, but doesn't the blogroll already do that? Well, I signed up for a handful of your blogs to start with and I'll continue to sign up for more. I'm officially a follower. Before you know it I'll be twittering with all of the other crazy whippersnappers out there. Damn kids with their tweets, blogs, and follower thingimadoos.

After a year of this (that's right, my 1 year anniversary quietly passed a few days ago. Maybe I'll do something to commemorate it. I thought about making a post but it didn't seem right unless it was a few weeks late) I finally am making an effort to get with the program.

Thanks to Beardy for the much needed kick in the pants.

By the way...Gint-A-Cuffs is going to kick ass.

Random Packs Of Kindness Vintage Edition

Here is the Vintage Edition of the RPOK review. For the purposes of this post "vintage" will be defined strictly as cards from the 1985 set or older, even though 1985 cards aren't vintage (unless you are selling them for way too much money on Craigslist). It is amazing that vintage is being defined in this way for this post because, as luck would have it, one of the cards is from the 1985 Topps set. It's funny how things turn out sometimes.


Len Barker - 1982 Fleer

Len Barker is the otherwise ordinary pitcher who on May 15, 1981, pitched a perfect game. This is the greatest thing that happened to the Indians since 10 cent beer night. Even though attendance was a little over 7,000 that night, just about everyone in Cleveland was there.

Hassey and Barker - 1983 Fleer - Last Perfect Game

See, I told you he pitched a perfect game. And, that other guy caught it. He even has a sweet beard. I'm not making it up, the Indians had a few good things happen to them in the 80's.

Judging by the background here, this picture was probably taken during the 3rd inning of a game in progress.


Joe Charboneau - 1982 Topps

Super Joe Charboneau. Another one of those good things to happen to Cleveland in the 80's, even if it wasn't a good thing anymore by the time this card was made. I love this card for the photo of Joe. He just looks like a ballplayer there. I guess that isn't really much of a revelation considering...you know...Joe was a ballplayer. But, you guys know what I mean.

Bert Blyleven - 1985 Topps

Here is the newest vintage card for the purposes of this post. Way back in 1985. That makes this card VERY rare indeed. People forget that Bert pitched part of his (should be) HOF career. in Cleveland. Maybe if more people thought about this maybe he would be forgiven for falling 13 wins short of 300 (as if wins mean much anyway). You don't think Bert would have gotten there if he didn't spend 4 1/2 seasons playing for Dave Garcia, Mike Ferraro, and Pat Corrales?

Ridiculous that he isn't in the hall. Especially when you consider his beard.




Wayne Garland - 1982 Fleer

This card is interesting because...I like this card and um....The back of the card has a...Wayne Garland once...uhh...

I just like this card OK? Get off my back.

Rick Waits - 1981 Donruss

You want to know why this card is awesome, besides the fabulous lighting? Rick Waits made his home in Willoughby Ohio. You want to know what other famous personage is from Willoughby (besides Tom Anderson)? That's right. None other than Motherscratcher.



Larvell Blanks - 1979 Topps

This card reminds me of the greatest blog post ever made. I love the red uniforms. When they have one of those throwback uni nights how come they never pull out this monstrosity? I would absolutely love to see a game against the old A's yellow unis. People might go blind.

1982 Fleer - 1981 All Star Game
can you believe that they had an all star game at that stadium? And, not too long after the Cuyahoga caught fire. it's unbelievable to me. How many players do you think faked injuries that year to get out of the game?

I love the card, though. Municipal Stadium getting it's own card. Nice


Sid Monge - 1979 Topps

My favorite thing about Sid Monge, by far, is that his name is Sid Monge. Sid is vastly underused as it is. When you team Sid up with Monge, well, I'm sure you'll agree that it's glorious. Just magical.

And look at Sid. the excitement just radiates off of him. He's looking very dapper in his collared shirt underneath his uniform. I get the feeling that he's just praying that the other kids at home in Mexico don't ever see this card of him in the Indians jersey. He'll never live it down.

Johnny Romano - 1961 Topps

My first ever 1961 card. I have only a hand full of cards older than this one. I was very excited to see it and learn a few things about a Triber who I've never heard of.

Turns out that Johnny was an All Star the year of this card He hit 91 HRs for the Tribe in the 5 seasons that he spent with them. His home is Hoboken, his nickname is Honey, and (according to the back of the card) he spends his spare time constructing things out of wood.

Can you believe it? That's what it says. I guess they figured there was no need to be more specific than that. Just things out of wood.

That's the best thing about old cards on these blogs. Before this I probably would have glanced right past this card and not taken the time to learn something about Johnny. And, Johnny deserves that I know something about him. Don't you think so?



Charlie Spikes - 1977 Topps

Fantastic card. I'll never get tired of those red uniforms. And how great are Leslie's burns (his name is Leslie Charlie Spikes). Looking for something nice to write about Leslie, Topps came up with this tidbit on the back of the card: "Voted as Tribe's Most Outstanding Player in 1973 Training Camp by news media."

Can you get a load of that? Most outstanding in training camp? Can you believe that there is such a thing? That is too fantastic.

Congrats Chuck. Now you can sit your grand kids on your knee and tell them about the 1973 training camp. Just hope they don't ask you what you hit during the real season (.237).

To be fair to Charlie, he did hit 23 hr that season. Not too shabby. Not shabby at all.

John Lowenstein - 1977 Topps

Could there possibly be a better card to end on that Lowenstien's? Is this a great card or what. At the time of this card, John had spent his entire career, starting in 1970, with the Tribe. The tidbit that Topps came up with was: "A speedy baserunner, John has career total of 69 Stolen Bases for the Tribe."

Don't worry, I've done the math for you. John stole an average of just under 10 bases a season.

Blazing speed. I can just imagine that glorious hair billowing out behind Speedy John as he stretched a double into a triple. You know, one of the 8 triples this burner hit to this point in his career.

Thank you again David. I love getting your free cards. And, now I can sign up for another team!

Random Packs Of Kindness From Tribecards

Here's a long overdue post as I forego the Indians game so I can watch the US v Brazil soccer game. Like a typical American I watch a limited amount of soccer, about every 4 years. I used to play a lot of soccer and was actually quite good. That was back when I could run more than 50 yards without having a heart attack.

But apparently this would be a pretty big deal if we won. I've heard that Brazil has a decent team (JK). So I'm watching...

GOAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No Kidding! We just scored as I'm typing this. How about that! Good times.

However, since I have no soccer cards to talk about, I'll stick with what I do know (allegedly). Baseball cards. Or, specifically, free baseball cards from David.

This is my random pack of kindness Indians cards. David, as is so typical for him, has started giving out 10 packages of every freakin' team to whoever asks. I barely got in on the Indians. I've decided to not sign up for any more teams until I get my thank you posts up for this one. So I have to get this up quick so I can sign up for more stuff.

David rules. Here's part 1 of 2 posts detailing what I got:



Roberto Alomar 2002 Stars of 89 Game Used Jersey

Right off the bat I get a jersey card of Robby Alomar. Awesome. You can save your Tinkers to Evers to Chance. I'll take Vizquel to Alomar to Sorrento. Best DP combo that a lot of us have ever seen.

I don't know what set this is from, but Upper Deck was kind of lazy on this one. Here's Alomar, best remembered as an Oriole, in a Tribe uniform, on a card commemorating 1989 when he was apparently a Met (I have no recollection of Alomar on the Mets). Would it have been too difficult to actually get a picture of him in a Mets uni if that's what the card is? Just lazy.

Works out for me, though. If UD wasn't so lazy, I don't get a Game Used card of Alomar in my pack.



1992 Upper Deck Robby and Sandy Alomar - Bloodlines

I think that this is the only card I have with both Alomar brothers on it. I also have no recollection of Roberto on the Blue Jays. Jeez, I thought I was a baseball fan. This is getting depressing.

*There's some kind of buzzing sound coming from the stadium where the soccer game is being played. It sounds like it's made by some kind of kazoo on steroids and it's more annoying than the Tomahawk chop. I heard it at the begining and figured that it would stop once the game got under way. Soccer fans are weird. Can't they just do the wave or something?

1991 Score Sandy Alomar Jr - Rifleman

Look at score go, man. Cool looking card. This was probably absolutely astounding back in...

GGGOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LANDON DONOVAN IN THE 26TH MINUTE! WE'RE OFFICIALY KICKING THEIR ASS!!!!!!

OK, where was I. Oh yeah, 1991 Score. From the back: "Believe it or not, some scouts rated Sandy's arm and all-round catcher's tool better than those of Benny Santiago."

I write that because I think most people forget just how good Benito used to be. Alomar too, for that matter. Except in Cleveland, where we love us some Sandy Alomar Jr.



Paul Sorrento - 1992 Leaf Studio

I LOVE Leaf Studio. They wrote the most ridiculous things on these cards. What do we have for Paul:

"Favorite singer is Robert Plant; actress is Kim Bassinger; movie is Goodfellas; book is Misery; talk show host is David Letterman."

Damn. That's pretty impressive. I would hope that my choices hold up so well after 17 years. I mean, I'm pretty sure Alex cole picked House Party 2 or something.

Well done, Paul.

Candy Maldonado - 1991 Fleer

Card Companys don't have enough balls anymore to put out a whole flagship set on bright yellow cardboard. I think that's why I like this set so much. It took guts. If I ever find out who was the guy who made that call I will nickname him Private Joker.

Why do I remember Candy as a power hitter? I'm looking at his stats on this card. He was not. He should have spent more time with Canseco.

* This Kaka guy makes me nervous. If you name your Brazillian kid Kaka you are pretty much assuring yourself that he will be a fantastic soccer player. It's a lot like if you name your newborn daughter Nikki. Yeah, you pretty much just pre-ordered her stripper heals and cocaine habit...estimated delivery date, 19 years.



Jose Mesa - 1996 Fleer

Turning Red....must look away....I will not cuss on this post....

Eric Plunk - 1994 Fleer Ultra

Love Fleer Ultra. I love Eric Plunk too. We could use him in the bullpen this year. It never mattered to be that he is the ugliest Indian in history not named Otis Nixon.

Or Julian Tavarez.

Actually, when you think of those guys, Plunk is quite handsome.



Kevin Seitzer 1997 Pinnacle

Pinnacle cards were great. I like this because it has a great shot of one of those ridiculous helmet flap extenders. What the heck were those about? Were there a lot of people getting hit in the chin? I could see if Jay Leno or Soda Popinski was stepping into the box. Those guys would need to take precautions. But Kevin Seitzer. His chin looks normal sized...to me, anyway.

Alex Cole - 1992 Donruss

Here's Mr. House Party 2. We got Alex from the Padres for Tom Lampkin. I'd do that again. Alex walked more than he struck out and stole a lot of bases. We would remember him more fondly in Cleveland if he wasn't immediately followed by Kenny Lofton.

He's probably the best player in Cleveland history to where giant goggles and 2 ear flaps. He will definately be a future member of the 2 Flap Syndicate.



Carlos Bearga - 1995 Sportflix

The back says "Always chattering and aleays hustling, Carlos is the heart and soul of the Indians". I'd have to agree with that. He was always a charismatic fan favorite. Cleveand was pissed when John Hart traded him. Hart turned out to be right, of course. Baerga crashed and burned soon after that. We of course got future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent. (I won't mention the fact that we immediatley traded Kent because we liked Jose Vizcaino a lot better).

Gaylord Perry - 1991 Sportflics Kellogg's Corn Flakes.

Another Sportflics card (before they became Sportflix, which is way more hip). Everyone remembers Gaylord. He has a shot at the Hall of Fame when he retires in a few years.



Ben Broussard - 2003 Topps

I liked Ben. I really did. I was always pulling for him. He always seemed more like a AAAA player to me, though. The best thing that he ever did for the Tribe was turn into Shin Soo Choo.

Reggie Jefferson - 1991 Upper Deck

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Brazil scored. 2-1 Good Guys

Reggie had some good years. Much like Broussard, Reggie made his biggest contibution for the Tribe when he morphed with Felix Fermin and turned into Omar Vizquel. Man, John Hart really made some fantastic trades. That deserves it's own post.

WHOA!!!!!!!! WHAT A SAVE. Still leading by 1.



Youthful Tribe - 1993 Upper Deck

I've never seem this card before...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! SON OF A.... 2-2. Dang.

This card has Belle, Alomar, Thome, Baerga, and Lofton. This is even before Ramirez arrived. How in the world did we not win a Series?

Kenny Lofton 1992 Pinnacle Sidelines

I'm not sure how many people know just how great an athlete Lofton was. He was a starting point guard at Arizona and could have probably played in the NBA. This is an awsome card.

Thanks David. More cardboard goodness to come.

Dang Brazil 3-2. Only a few minutes left. And we just blew a great chance. What a bunch of Kaka.

Bad Wax Bonus

As part of the Bad Wax box busters deal, Mike sent everyone a surprise pack of cards to go along with the main packs. My extra pack was another pack of 2002 Vintage, which is great because I like them a lot. What can I say, I like black borders.

First I got an extra surprise; this Giant 2000 Bowman Chrome Alfanso Soriano. It's bigger than a regular card and I can't remember what it's called (and I'm too lazy to look it up right now). I'd forgotten that Alfi was a Yankee. The card is sweet. Shiny as hell. I got this because a few weeks back I won a contest. It was very difficult. Basically, if memory serves, I was the first person to comment on the post so I got the card. So yeah...I EARNED IT!



Here is bonus pack 2002 UD Vintage:





Mark Buehrle
Bret Boone
Tim Salmon
Reggie Sanders
Donnie Bridges/Henry Mateo
Dernell Stenson/Juan Diaz
Postseason Scrapbook Randy Johnson
Rockies Team Checklist
Trot Nixon
Jason Kendell

Not too bad of a pack. It would have been a lot better back in 2002 with Johnson, Salmon, and Boone. And another Dernell Stenson. That makes 2 in the Bad Wax packs. I'd never heard of the guy. He was murdered shortly after getting his first taste of the majors. It's very sad and, truthfully, deserves it's own post. I'm glad to have a few of Dernell's cards.

Thanks for the break Mike, and the bonus pack, and especially my hard earned giant shiny Soriano.